October 25, 2001

Br-r-r-r-r-r-r-r

Yes, we will have winter again this year. Why is that so hard to believe and to comprehend? Taking care of horses in the winter is almost like Minnesota drivers the first day it snows. How can we prepare our horses for that first cold weather that will come to Minnesota?

As my local veterinarian told me many times when I was a student and first years in practice, "just try not to screw up mother nature ". I will say almost the same thing to my readers. The horse has done pretty well surviving this long without the help of humans. We do have the ability to make the winter a little easier for the horse but too many times we really make it worse in our effort to try too hard.

A healthy well fed horse will have a very good hair coat to protect it from the cold weather. We can help by providing protection from the wind, offering a good source of forages and ample amounts of liquid water. What a loaded statement that is.

Protection from the wind . This can mean something as simple as a shelter belt of trees or man made fence to break the wind to a full blown enclosed shed or barn. Why do people heat barns? Most of the time is for the benefit of the owner and not the horse. A dry cold barn is best for the horse. When you heat a barn and allow the horse to go in and out, remember they have their coats on all the time. If the horse gets too warm and sweaty inside and is turned out it will be like you going out in the cold weather with a wet head. Short wet hair does not supply much insulation or protection from the cold.

Keep in mind that it is healthier for a horse with short hair to be put out into the cold if they are dry than to take a long haired horse and bring them into a warm barn. Warm barns and long hair are great for pneumonia.

Offering a good source of forages . It is always good to allow you horse to enter the winter in very good flesh. Remember the bear eats all summer and especially in the fall to lay down a healthy layer of fat for the winter. This is also good for horses. They may not hibernate but they will have to maintain their body temperatures all winter. Remember that their house is kept at 99 degrees (body temperature). To maintain this temperature they must have the energy to keep their furnace going. Cereal grains feed during the winter do not help in this process very much. It is better if the animal has sufficient body fat to keep the furnace going.

The digestive process of forages is what generates the most heat. If you remember last winter, December and February were very cold and many of you commented that your horse sure at a lot of hay during that time. That is what they are suppose to do. If you fed a lot more grain thinking that was the fuel for their furnace, it was actually the hay that was generating the heat they needed. Dry hay is much better to feed in the winter than some of the wet products that have been fed. This is true because the wet product has a lot of water that is probably frozen and needs energy to get it up to body temperature. Energy the horse needs to keep their body warm.

Ample supplies of liquid water . I would like to underline liquid. Horses will not survive on snow in a cold winter as a sole source of water! First, I would ask you to try licking on a popcycle when you are thirsty on a cold winter day. Think back to your science days in school. The energy to take something frozen to the liquid state takes a lot of energy and then take it to 99 degrees takes even more energy. This is what a horse needs to do with snow. Snow has an energy level of zero so it must get the needed energy from their food or body fat. It is healthier to give the horse access to water out of the ground that is about 55 degrees year around. It is also good to give the horse liquid water twice a day in the winter. If the horse has access to a heated waterer that would be great. A pail filled twice a day is very good also.

A horse is not human, they do not take off their coat when they go to warmer conditions, granola bars are not the best food stuff for their digestive system and when they get cold they do not have the opportunity to drink hot chocolate or coffee. Most of the winter mistakes are well intended. The owner does what they like to do to make them feel good but little consideration is given to the horses needs.

When we pen up a horse in a barn, we eliminate many of their natural tendencies of looking for proper housing, proper food to survive and proper sources of water. In our efforts to do what we think is best for the horse we sometimes screw up mother nature !